The next day, while Yi Xiaodao was still sleeping, someone from the Nanhuai Prince's Palace came to the inn and told him that the annual tribute of the Nanhuai Prince had already set off.
Xiang Lian'er still had a headache, but she didn't dare to neglect, knocked on Yi Xiaodao's door, endured the headache, and told Yi Xiaodao what the stranger had said.
Yi Xiaodao yawned and said, "Okay, I got it. Go wake up Fang Long. The Sui Gong matter is settled. Let's go to Yicheng to have a look."
Xiang Lian'er said "Oh", stood up and asked, "Aren't you going to meet Mr. Huang?"
"Why are we meeting? Can Mr. Huang not know what we can know? Wait? The King of Nanhuai sent someone here? Then you know where we live... Haha." Yi Xiaodao laughed at himself, "That's right, on someone else's territory. If you still expect others not to know, then you don’t take others seriously.”
Xiang Lian'er rubbed her head and walked out of the room before she realized what she was doing. She turned around and said, "It's only right that Fang Long lives in the same room with you!"
Yi Xiaodao was stunned and realized that he had not seen Fang Long since he went out last night until today.
"Last night Fang Long said he wanted to take a shower, and then..." Yi Xiaodao recalled yesterday.
"Later I told him to go to the east to find us..." Shanlian'er continued.
Yi Xiaodao slapped his head: "Then we met the second young master and forgot about Fang Long!"
"Then what should we do now? Fang Long didn't come back all night..." Upon hearing this, Xiang Lian'er ignored her headache and became a little anxious. After getting along with each other for several days, even though he had a good impression of Fang Long, he carefully helped her and He Yue'er lead their horses in Wancheng, and carried Yi Xiaodao to seek medical treatment in the capital. Whenever Yi Xiaodao was reluctant to spend money, It was Fang Long who paid the bills, and Xiang Lianer had already regarded Fang Long as a member of the small team.
Yi Xiaodao rubbed his cheek twice, sobered up a little, stood up and said, "Let's go, there is no other way, let's go to Nanhuai Prince's Mansion."
"Aren't you going to Yicheng?" Xiang Lian'er asked.
Yi Xiaodao thought for a moment and said: "Go, but first go to the Nanhuai Palace to see if they can help us find someone. If we find someone, we can just send him back to the capital. We can't ignore him."
Xiang Lian'er nodded, and she and Yi Xiaodao left the inn and headed straight towards the Nanhuai Prince's Mansion.
…
In the Nanhuai Prince's Mansion, the old Nanhuai Prince was happy and angry, restless.
Fortunately, his youngest son Li Dingxing was usually taciturn and thoughtful. He was really afraid that one day his youngest son would lose his mind and follow his miserable wife. He was carried back drunk last night. The old Nanhuai King now knew that most of the knots in his younger son's heart were relieved, so he was extremely happy.
What made me angry was that early in the morning, some people came to the palace and said that they wanted to give the second young master a ride. Soon, the entire palace was blocked, and the people just didn't believe it and wanted to enter the palace, saying that it was for the second young master. Condolences, this makes the old Nanhuai King angry. But seeing the drunken look on his youngest son's face, it was useless to say anything, so he had to let his servants carry him to the room to have a good rest and deal with the mess himself.
"Dad, Yi Xiaodao is here..." Li Yaoyang came to the old Nanhuai King to report.
"Ah? What's he doing here? Haven't all Sui Gong been sent away? If you propose marriage... Xing'er doesn't agree... I'll go see..." The King of Nanhuai said that he was about to go out to greet him, but he turned around after walking half way. He came back and said, "Yang'er, you better go ahead. No matter what the matter is, don't rush to agree, so that I can have room to talk to him."
Li Yaoyang nodded and went out to look for Yi's knife.
When Yi Xiaodao saw Li Yaoyang coming out, he hurriedly greeted him and said, "Young Master, you are polite. Where is the prince?"
Li Yaoyang coughed lightly: "My father... I feel cold occasionally. If Master Yi needs anything, you can tell me."
Yi Xiaodao took a deep breath and said: "Okay, that's it. There was another brother who came with me yesterday, that skinny boy. He disappeared last night and didn't come back all night. I'm living in Nanhuai. I’m not familiar with the place, so I’d like to ask the King of Nanhuai to help me find him.”
Li Yaoyang said: "It turns out to be a shame. This is easy to handle. You can definitely find it in Su City!"
Yi Xiaodao felt a little ashamed: "Yes... yes... it's embarrassing... Then I'll leave it to the eldest son. I'm going to say goodbye now."
"Where are you going, Master Yi?" Li Yaoyang asked aloud.
Yi Xiaodao cupped his hands and said: "The emperor's order is urgent, and I intend to go to Yicheng. The whole story... the eldest son also knows."
Li Yaoyang was happy when he heard that Yi Xiaodao was going to Yicheng. This meant that the imperial court was willing to take over the mess in Yicheng, but he was also a little worried. Can Yi Xiaodao be sure of something that even the King of Nanhuai could not handle...
"Master Yi, things in Yicheng are quite complicated... This trip may not go smoothly." Li Yaoyang had a good impression of Yi Xiaodao and warned him.
Yi Xiaodao said: "Thank you, eldest son, for reminding me. I will do my best. Regarding my little brother...his name is Fang Long. I hope eldest son can help."
"It's easy to talk about." Li Yaoyang nodded quickly.
Yi Xiaodao said goodbye to Li Yaoyang, left Nanhuai Prince's Mansion with Xiang Lian'er, and was about to leave the city while holding the horse.
Xiang Lian'er couldn't help but said, "Xiao Dao, isn't it good if we leave Fang Long alone like this?"
Yi Xiaodao sighed: "There is nothing we can do about it. Looking for someone in Su City is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Since the Nanhuai Palace agrees to help, it will definitely be much faster than us. We Let’s go to Yicheng first, maybe we’ll come back, so let’s leave Fang Long’s matter to them first.”
Xiang Lian'er also understood that Yi Xiaodao's words made sense, and it was indeed wise to go to Yicheng at this time.
"If one day...I..." Xiang Lian'er hesitated and said half of the words.
However, Yi Xiaodao understood what she was thinking, looked ahead and said calmly: "You are my sister, I will not let that day happen."
Xiang Lian'er secretly glanced at Yi Xiaodao. This time, for the first time, Xiang Lian'er did not refuse or use force. She felt slightly happy in her heart: "Being this guy's sister is actually quite good."
…
"What did Yi Xiaodao say?" When the old Nanhuai King saw his eldest son coming back, he knew that he had already talked with Yi Xiaodao and asked hurriedly.
Li Yaoyang said: "It's no big deal. He asked for help to find someone. The skinny boy disappeared yesterday. He asked us to help find him."
"Oh... it's not difficult." King Nanhuai stroked his white beard, and then asked, "Is there anything else? Didn't you say anything else?"
"Yes, they also said they would go to Yicheng to inquire about that business." Li Yaoyang answered truthfully.
The King of Nanhuai laughed: "Hahaha, he is a young man after all. It is a good thing to be ambitious, but... I am afraid he won't be able to do that kind of thing."
Li Yaoyang replied for the first time: "He just came yesterday, and today dad is ready to send out the annual tribute... I think... maybe he can do it in Zhicheng City."
The King of Nanhuai was stunned for a moment when his eldest son defeated his army, and then he laughed and said: "Hahahaha, yes, dad is confused, this country belongs to you young people after all... That's all, where is Mr. Huang? Are you up yet?"
While the father and son were talking, the housekeeper led Huang Bai to the hall.
"Your Majesty is so kind, Your Majesty is so kind! I'm the official... Haha, Your Majesty is laughing at me." Huang Bai was a little embarrassed when he saw the King of Nanhuai, and he held his hands in apology.
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, this is true pride." King Nanhuai said with a smile.
Huang Bai was at a loss for a moment and didn't know what to say. The King of Nanhuai took the lead to come to the rescue: "Ah, the families in Nanhuai are not willing to pay for the annual tribute. But I have no choice but to pay the full amount of eight million taels." ah!"
When Huang Bai heard that Sui Gong had been sent away, he still paid the full eight million taels. He was ecstatic in his heart. Although he tried his best to hide it, he couldn't help it and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is loyal to the court, and I will definitely inform your Majesty!"
"Ah, Mr. Huang is interested. Come, have a few drinks, don't worry, it's just a small drink, please." Early in the morning, the old Nanhuai King couldn't help but drag Huang Bai to the banquet hall to entertain him.
Yi Xiaodao and Xiang Lian'er rode out from the south gate and headed towards Yicheng.
At the same time, in Xicheng, a team of more than 500 people also left the city. It was the team escorting Sui Gong.
"General Xu, what a good job!" A general in armor on the city wall greeted General Xu who was escorting the annual tribute below the city.
"Sigong, you can't move. Let's go. I'll treat you to a drink when I come back." General Xu also knew that this trip was indeed a good job. Su City is very close to the capital, and it would only take a few days if we go quickly. When things are done, no matter from the court or the prince, rewards are indispensable.
The Sui Gong team escorted by General Xu had just walked away when two beggars beside the city wall whispered, "Do you hear me clearly?"
"Listen clearly, it's Sui Gong!"
"Let's go and report to Elder Tang."
The two of them followed the city wall and turned a corner. No one knew where they went. The soldiers guarding the city didn't care when they saw them. They had seen this kind of beggar many times and were not surprised.
…
After hearing the report of the two beggars, Elder Tang couldn't help but sneer: "Humph, if you still want to curry favor with the court, just go ahead and dream! Elder Sun, Elder Wang, Elder Zhu, you lead all the disciples to rob Sui Gong! Ah Gou! Cat, you are nimble and capable, send this kid back to the gang and let him be used by me!" With that, he kicked the half-dead Fang Long on the ground to the two beggars.
Elder Sun stepped forward and asked: "Elder Tang, what about you..."
Elder Tang turned to look at Su Cheng: "A good man will do his best to deliver the Buddha... to the West..."
Elder Sun guessed Elder Tang's intention, but he did not dare to say it clearly. After all, they were just ordinary elders, and Elder Tang was the guardian elder of the gang.
"After you rob Suigong, just wait for me near Licheng." Elder Tang ordered.
Everyone did not dare to disobey and took action according to Elder Tang's instructions.
Soon, a "demon" team of more than a hundred people appeared in a mountain depression south of Suzhou City. They gave way to the official road and took a small path, following Sui Gong from a distance...
On a high tower in Su City, a ragged beggar appeared standing on the top spire, staring coldly at the Nanhuai Palace like a goshawk.
